COMMcaddy Network, Alpharetta, Georgia, has been showing off its new in-bar product in the small exhibition area outside the main meeting room during Scala’s Connected Signage Conference at the Airport Renaissance Hotel in Philadelphia.

The product, officially launched two months ago, involves a small 8″ digital screen embedded in the side of a caddy that carries items like straws and napkins. There are on average about five of these caddies per bar – where there is usually a long, one-hour dwell time.

IAdea does the motherboard for the screens, with content management by SignChannel, Scala’s entry-level DOOH product for small- and medium-sized businesses. (IAdea recently named COMMcaddy its 2011 Most Innovative Digital Signage Product.)

The product carries advertising, information from the bar manager as wanted, and COMMcaddy runs messages such as ‘Don’t Drink and Drive’ once an hour. The company has currently deployed 150 of the units in Applebee’s, Chili’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and Benihana outlets across six states.
“The screen can also handle QR codes for interaction via mobile devices,” says Jack McManus, founder.